Teletypewriter equipment



March 10, I942. L. A. QBRIEN ETAL 2,275,798 I TELETYPEWRITER EQUIPMENT Filed Sept. 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 xxagg LA. O'BRIEN INVENTORS. E'M SMITH A TZ'ORNE Y arch 10, E942.

L.- A. OBRIEN ET AL TELETYPEWRITER EQUIPMENT Filed Sept. 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .LQA. O'BRIEN T E. M. SMITH ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1942 3 TELETYPEWRITER EQUIPMENT Laurence A. OBrien, South Orange, and Edward M. Smith, Montclair, N. J., assignors to Bell Telephone Laboratories,

Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 28, 1938, Serial No. 232,070

6 Claims. (Cl. 242-552) This invention relates to tables for supporting printing telegraph machines and, more particularly, to apparatus for supporting a roll of paper inside a teletypewriter table.

Heretofore, it has been the general practice to support a roll of paper on the outside of a teletypewriter table. Some of the disadvantages resulting from this practice are that more space is required, the appearance of the teletypewriter and table is not of the best, and it is easy for dust to collect on the paper and then be carried inside the teletypewriter where it will accumulate and cause trouble.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a teletypewriter' table with mechanism for holding a roll of paper inside the table,

this mechanism being attached to a pivotally mounted panel of the table which may be swung down for facilitating insertion of the paper.

It is also an object of the invention to provide the paper roll mechanism with a braking device for preventing the paper roll-from spinning when paper is fed from the roll.

A further object of the invention is to provide the paper roll mechanism with a spring clamp for holding the end of the paper strip in such a position that, when the pivotally mounted panel is shut, the paper will project through a slot in the top of the table thereby facilitating the insertion of the paper into the teletypewriter.

These objects of the invention are attained by pivotally mounting one of the panels, such as the front panel, and attachingthereto a pair of brackets for holding a spindle upon which the paper roll is supported. Secured to the tops of the brackets is a plate having a spring clamp fastened thereto for detachably holding an end of the paper strip. Two cords are provided for supporting a so-called slack bar for causing the paper strip to form a loop sufiicient to per-- mit edgewise movement of the paper caused by the travel of the carriage of the teletypewriter. One of these cords has one of its ends tied to a braking device pivotally mounted on one of the brackets. The operation of the braking device is controlled .by the weight of the slack bar in a manner that will be described hereinafter. These and other features of the invention will be described in detail in connection with'the following description of the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is athree-dimensional perspective view of a teletypewriter mounted upon a table constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the table with a, portion of one panel broken away to show the paper roll mounted upon its brackets and also showing the slack bar mounted upon its cords, one of which is tied to the braking device;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the braking device with a portion of the bracket removed to show in full lines the normal, or unoperated, position of the braking device and also to show its operated position in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 6 and illustrating the manner in which the clamp spring engages the paper strip;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View somewhat similar to Fig. 4 but showing the paper. strip disengaged from the spring clamp and passing over it;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the teletypewriter table with the front panel in its open position and with one of the side panels partly broken away to show the manner in which the front panel is held in its open position with the paper roll readily accessible; and r v Fig. '7 is a front View of the teletypewriter table with the frontpanel inits open position.

Fig. 1 shows a teletypewriter I which may be of the type shownin Patent 2,230,463 granted February 4, 1941 to C. A.-Levin, enclosed in a silencing and dust-excluding cover 4, of the type disclosed in Patent Des. 112,119 issued November 8, 1938, to G. R. Lum .et al., mounted upon a table 2 having a front panel 3 which slopes inward to provide space for the legs of an operator. Panel 3 is pivotally mounted on pivots 5-5 (see Fig. 2) and is held in a closed position by two coil springs 6-6. A slot 1 is cut in panel 3 whereby panel 3 may be grasped and pulled outward and downward to its open position where it is supported by the chain 8 (see Fig. 6) Panel 3 is-held in its open position by its own weight plus the weight of the apparatus mount-v ed thereon as this combined weight is sufiicient to overcome the pull exerted by springs 6-6. During the travel of panel 3 from one position to the other, the weight of panel 3 and the ap- I paratus mounted thereon is counterbalanced by springs 6-6. Back-stops 9-9 have rubber tips and are attached to the inside of thetable 2 and springs 6-6 hold panel 3 against the back-stops 9-9 when panel 3 is in its closed position (see Fig. 2). r

Secured to the-inside upper portion of panel 3 are two brackets Ill-l0 eachof which is provided with a notch ll. Mounted in the notches H-ll is aspindle 12 for supporting the paper roll l3. Two bolts I l-l4 are attached to each bracket 13-") for-slidably securing thereto a.

which projects through the hole 3 and bears:

firmly against the top surface of plate l'l.

Two cords 202fl each have one end tied tothe inside rear top of table: 2. One-.cord20 has.

its other end tied to the top-'oftone ofJthebrackets l and the other cord 20-3 hasiitssother end tied to an end of a braking device: 21 'whichzispivotally attached to one ofthe, brackets [0 by.

one of the bolts M which act's'asa fulcrum for" brake 2|. A stop screw 22 is carried by this? bracket H] for limiting the movement ofbrake 21 when spindle l2 isremoved from brackets l0'-Hl.. A plurality'of holes' 23 -are drilled inbrake 2i at one endlso: that-'thecordn can.beattached to brake 2|- at variousdistances' from its fulcrum I45 in orderto? permit" adjustment of the brakepressure'a's required: Mountedfor' travel on each cord 20* is" a pulley" 2'4. Hang-- ing from the pulleys 21-24 is 'a slack bar' 25 beneath which the. strip of"paper-2'fimustpass from roll I3"onitsway' out of the" table 2 into the. c'overll of teletypewrit'er" I via slot 21 cut inthe. top of table 2; Slack' bar 25 is" fre'e'to roll in its pulley supports'soastore'duce-its frictional drag on the'paper 26 and thereby causeless interference with the paper feeding'mechanism. If desired, rings? could beused instead of the pulleys 241-431 HOl'es28f-28 arecutin the back 'pane'l'of table 2 to: furnish meansrforventi lating the inside of. tabie-2":'and"to provide hand-- holes by means of'which an attendantiimay'grasn table 2 for moy igg it.

When it is'desiredto" renew thepap'erro'll 13 in table 2; the'atten'dant inserts a hand in slot 1 and pulls panel 3' outward 'and' downward, springs 6-45. counterbalancingthe weight of panel 3' and the" apparatus mounted thereon; to" its open position shown'in Figs. 6 and 'i'where-itis held by chain 8,wthus placing the paperrollholdingj apparatus and theslack'bar'25 in a convenient- 1y accessible position:. The attendant then" raises the latches l I 5. to release the paper roll spindle l2 which readily disengages itself" from latches l5 l5* and slides" down into the lowest point of notches HH from which position it may. readily be removedfromthebrackets I'll-i 0. Due to the V-shape of notches ll'l -H, asseen in Fig. 6; thellatches l5 l5- can; at this time, be allowed to drop down because. they willin-otnow reenga'ge' the ends" of" spindle l2" since-spindle:- l2 has now moved 1 to tlreilowest"part oftlre notches lI'-l I.

The spindle. I2" is" then removed" fromthe": ex hausted roll l3 and inserted irr a newroll I3 which is' placed"between the brackets: I 0I 0'; the

ends of spindle l2 being placedlin the-notches H-lL By pushing the; roll I 3'; the" ends: of spindle l2 will force the latches" l5-l5' upward until the spindle l2 reaches'the ends ofnotches'. I ll l at which point the latches l5--l5 will fall downward and thenotches'in the ends. of latches l5'-'l5will engage-the endsof spindle l2 to hold spindle- I 2' and roll f3 securelyi'in'place. If the attendantshould'forget' to pushspindle l2 to' the point where the latches l'5=l-5 engage its ends; spindle l2 will be automatically latched by" grav- Attached to ity while panel 3 is being closed. The end of the paper strip 26 is then fed from the roll l3 by the attendant and carried around the slack bar 25 which has been carried into a conveniently accessible position by its pulleys 24-24 riding on cords 2020 as is shown in Fig. 6, and then up to the plate [1. Here theattendantmakes a 45 degree fold in each corner ofithe end of the paper strip 26 to form a point as shown in Fig. 7. As the paper strip 26 must be folded to a point to aid in threading it through the teletypewriter l, folding itat' this time serves a dual purpose.

The bottom part oft spring clamp i9 is then pushed'up againstthe under surface of plate l1 thereby'projectingtthe hook-shaped end of spring clamp lfl'uptabove'the top surface of plate H to permit the folded end of the paper strip 26 to be inserted between the end of the paper retainingyclamp l9 and plate I! as is shown in Fig. 4. The upper surface of plate I1 is marked with two" lines to indicate the proper locationof the folded pointed end of-paper stri'p=26; When the paper 26- i's initsproper place-:on' plate:- H; the attendant releases" his pressure on the" bottom part of spring clamp I9 thereby releasingspring l9 which'proceed's to clampv the paper 2ii secure- 1y against plate-IT. The advanta'ge derivedifi'om this type of spring clamp'isthat' the attendant will not bend the spring l9 beyond its-'- elastic limiti- Panel 3 isnow pushed" up t'o it's closed position moving; the folded:- pointedend off the; paper strip: 26, which brushes against the under surfaceof the table top a's the= panel 3 is moved to its closed'position, flips to, a verticallposition in the widened portion 3U of slot 2'F as' indi'ca-ted in Fig. 3; The folded tlp of the paperstripdfi is thus carried to a p'osition out'side" of the table top' so that it can be readilygrasped'abyan' attendant; The attendant thendisengagesthe paper strip 26 fromspring clamp l 9, as is shown in Fig-. 5, by pulling it to one side. andproceeds to feed it throughthe t'ele'typewriter I".

This clamping device [9 is of considerable assistance to an attendant' as it would be quite diflicult to feed the paper ZG through' the table 2' without it because" the attendant would have to reach with one handi from the front of t'a-ble 2 into the. inside thereof tohold the end of the paper strip 26 inlslot'2l in table 2 while-attemptingito grasp withz his other handthe' tipof strip 2F projecting abovethe -top QfitabIe-ZL- Pivotal mounting. of the back? or side panels of tablee 2' wouldinot'; in' general'; help an attendant 'as these tables 2 are' preferably placed"with* their" backs against a wall andgenerally haveothertele typewriter tables or other" apparatus" adjoining their side panels; Therefore; thefront panel is ordinarily the only panel'readil'y accessible to'an attendant. The spring clamp l9 greatly facilit'ates the attendants work because he simply places thefolded tip of paper"26*under' clamp l9, shuts panel" 3, and immediately the tip of paper 26 pops outof the slot 21'- inthe" top of table 2"; A- further advantage of thi's method of feeding the paper strip 2 6 is thatiit' is so simple that it requires very"little-training fbr theattendantsto-lea'm to do it properly-1 In the meantime, the weight of slack bar 25 has forced the paper roll I3 to turn until the paper strip 26 has formed a loop extending nearly to the bottom of the table panels for permitting edgewise movement of the paper 26 caused by the travel of the teletypewriter carriage. The weight of slack bar 25 then pulls down that end of the brake 2I to which it isattached by cord 26. This causes brake 2| toturn counter-clockwise onits pivot I4 thereby forcing the other portion of brake 2| to bearagainst spindle I2 as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The resulting friction is sufiicient to stop spindle I 2 and paper roll I3 from further rotation at this time. As was stated above, the pressure of brake 2I on spindle I2 can be varied by tying cord to a different hole 23 in brake 2I. The paper strip 26 and its related apparatus is thus placed in the condition shown in Fig. 2.,

During operation of teletypewriter I, the paper strip 26 is fed through the teletypewriter Iby means of the line feed mechanism (not shown) in teletypewriter I. If the paper strip'26 consists of a series of forms, it often happens that only a few lines are printed upon each form. In such case, the unprinted portion of the forms are rapidly fed through teletypewriter I by a succession of line feed operations which cause the paper roll I3 to rotate rapidly. Other types of service comprise the transmission of a series of short messages with several line spaces between the messages. Sometimes roll I3 is caused to rotate rapidly When an attendant operates the platen crank 29 at a fast rate. Rapid rotation of roll I3 is objectionable because it has a tendency to impart a certain amount of momentum to the movement of roll I3 with the result that, if it were not for brake 2|, an excess of paper would be fed from roll I3 and would accumulate in the lower portion of table 2 where it might become snarled with the apparatus inside table 2. Spinning of roll I3 is objectionable for other reasons also. For example, since table 2 has no bottom, an attendant, in slamming shut panel 3, might cause the slack bar to be thrown against the paper strip 26 and cause a long loop to form and extend down to the floor where it would become soiled and might be stepped upon.

However, the weight of slack bar 25 operates brake 2I and causes it to bear against spindle I2 with the result that the paper roll I3 is held stationary. When a line feed operation is performed in teletypewriter I, the paper strip 26 is pulled upward out of slot 21 in table 2 thereby shortening the loop formed by the paper strip 26 inside table 2 as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Shortening of this loop causes the paper strip 26 to elevate the slack bar 25 slightly, thereby reducing the tension of cord 26. A decrease in the tension of cord 20 effects a corresponding decrease in the force exerted by brake 2| on spindle I2 with the result that spindle I2 and roll I 3 will be released for rotation.

Since, at this time, the weight of slack bar 25 is carried by the loop formed by the paper strip 26 and since spindle I2 and roll I3 are now released for rotation, the weight of slack bar 25 will force the paper strip 26 to extend its loop by unreeling more paper from roll I3. As the loop is extended, slack bar 25 is lowered to a point where it is again supported by its cord 20 instead of the paper strip 26. At this point, the tension in cord 20 causes brake 2I to operate to prevent further rotation of spindle I2 and roll I3 at this time. Thisprocess is repeated with the next line feed operation.

-The invention has been described with reference to'its preferred embodiment and its preferred application. It is to be understood that the invention is capable of other applications and may be embodied in other forms of apparatus than that specifically shown inthe drawings. It is not limited to use with printing telegraph machines and may be used with other printing devices, such as electrically operated typewriters. Consequently, the invention is not to be limited to the particular form and use shown and described, but is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A table comprising a top adapted to support a printing machine, said top having a slot therein, a movable panel in the table having an open position and a closed position, holding means adapted to hold a strip of paper in roll form,

securing means for securing the holding means to the panel, an instrumentality adapted to hold one end of the strip of paper, and means for attaching said instrumentality to said holding means at a point which is beneath and adjacent to said slot when said panel is in its closed position whereby the end by said instrumentality is carried into the slot in the top of the table when the panel is moved from its open position to its closed position.

2. A table comprising a top adapted to support a printing telegraph machine, said top having a slot therein, a movable panel in the table having an open position and a closed position,

holding means adapted to hold a strip of paper in roll form, securing means for securing the holding means to the panel, a J-shaped spring clamp, a plate having a hole therein, means for attaching said plate to the holding means, and means for securing the J-shaped spring clamp to said plate at a point which is beneath and adjacent to said slot when said panel is in its closed position with the curved end of the spring clamp inserted through the hole in the plate and adapted to hold one end of a strip of paper between the end of the spring clamp and the plate whereby said end of the paper is carried into the upper portion of the table and projected out of said slot when the panel is moved from its open position to its closed position.

3. In combination, supporting means adapted to support a recording instrument, holding means adapted to hold a spindle for supporting a strip of paper in roll form for rotation, a brake lever having a cut-out portion adapted to bear against said spindle, means for pivotally attaching said brake lever to said holding means, a slack bar adapted to form a loop in a strip of paper supported by said spindle held by the holding means, flexible means having one end attached to said supporting means and its other end secured to the brake lever for causing the cut-out portion of the brake lever to bear against said spindle for frictionally retarding its rotation, and means for attaching said slack bar to said flexible means, said brake lever having a plurality of holes therein for enabling said flexible means to be secured to the brake lever at various distances from its fulcrum for adjusting the brake pressure exerted against said spindle.

4. A table comprising a top adapted to support a printing machine, said table having a movable panel having an open position and a closed position, holding means having a V-shaped notch of the strip of paper held 4.- adapted: tosupportonaend iota? spindle'omwhich; a strip of paper in 'roll-iormis mountediormptation; means for securing,thesholdingmeans to the; panel; aplatehaving a V-shaped'= cut-out, atone: end Lthereof, means for slidably: attaching; said: plate to: the holding meansto permiti said= plate to move only. hack and: forthin alstraight endlofsthesv-shaped n0tch:.in the holdingmeans. 2o;

andalso. within the V-sh-aped' cuteout in. said, plate;.

5.111. combination, a table. having a top. sup.- portedhy a plurality. oi'legs aplurality, ofspanels, for. enclosing aportion. of thelspacebeneath the top. ofthe table andbetweensaid'legsa each of. saidpanels having an inside faceand an outside. face, hinge means for pivotally mounting one of said panels for, movement from a closedposition to an openposition and'viceversa, holdinggmeansv adapted to hold a strip of paper in roll" form for, rotation thereof, securing means for securing said holding means to the inside face ofsaid pivotallyv mounted panel, tensile means for holding said pivotally mounted. panel in it's closed position whereby a roll of paper held. by said; holding; means is supported entirelywithin said.

manned;

enclosed; space; and; suspensoryvmeans; 101: susposition, whereby. a; roll of holding; means; is; supported; completely,

: the confinespithe table;

6.- In: combination, *a',tab1e:havingatop: adaptedsto. support a recording instrumenta plurality-- of; legs for rsupporting said.-top,= a pluralitmof pane els: for; enolosing a portion. of

nositionftcr,v an openi'position; and viceversa, hold-- ing; meansadapted, to hold; a. stripof. paper. in

face, of said: pivotally, mounted panel, ,a ,slaekfloar for forming a loop inasaid, strip, of paper tensile;

means for holding. said. pivotallyl mounted panel in its .closed, position. whereby, a roll; of-. paper.

held by, said;holding means is, supported, entirely within.saidienclosedspace, vsuspensory means for suspending, said. pivot'ally mounted; panel; in its open position whereby a roll of paperheld by said lfiolding means is supported completelyoutside the' confines" of" the; table; and instrumentalities for'suspendingithe slackbar in a-position entirely Wit-hin-saidlenclosed space when the pivot'ally: mounted panel is in its closed position,

said instrumentalities including: conveying means for'conveying the slackbar to a positioncompletely outside the confines of thetable when the pivotally 'mounted panel is in" itsopen position.

EAURENCE A. OBRIEN'. EDWARD M. SMITH.

the; spaoeibeneathl the:- top; of; the? tablea and. betweenl said: legs, each of; saidzpanels having an.- inside .facexand' an, out-. side-1 face; hingez meansl for: pivotallx mounting; one; of; saidzpanelsa for: movement; from; a, closed 

